WHY YOU SHOULD COME
Under mounting pressure the government has reluctantly agreed to take "several hundred" of the "most destitute" Syrian refugees. But this is nothing when compared to either the scale of the refugee crisis or the commitments made by other nations.

BRITAIN'S SHAME
The UK government has not joined the United Nations High Commission for Refugees re-settlement programme but has instead set up its own programme providing minimal assistance. Compare its commitment to Germany who has pledged to take 20,000 Syrian refugees as part of the UN effort. Even much smaller countries, like Sweden and Norway, have agreed to take 1,300 and 1,000 refugees respectively, and the United States has placed no limit on the number it is willing to take.

GLOBAL SOUTH
We also recognise that despite international efforts the burden of dealing with the refugee crisis has overwhelmingly been borne by the much poorer countries bordering Syria. We call on the government to dramatically increase its commitment to take Syrian refugees who are fleeing war and persecution.

REFUGEE RIGHTS
We recognise that their reluctance to countenance this step reflects a wider climate of persecution of migrants and refugees, who have been scapegoated for the affects of the capitalist crisis. This has fuelled the rise of the racist UKIP part. We are determined to stand together against racism and for international solidarity with migrants and refugees the world over.

2. Contribute to expanding Operation Triton for Mediterranean rescue:
The UK needs to join Operation Triton, the European patrol force for the Mediterranean, so that it can be expanded and its role shifted from border control and surveillance to saving migrants’ lives.

3. Work with the EU to allow safe routes for Syrians entering Europe:
The Dublin Regulation, under which asylum seekers must seek asylum in the first country they enter, puts an excessive burden on first port of entry states, and creates extra burdens for refugees as they are arbitrarily restricted in their choice of asylum and unable to move to locations where they may have family, friends or relevant language skills. The Dublin rules have outlived their usefulness, and need review in light of the unprecedented numbers fleeing Syria in what is the worst refugee crisis since the Second World War.

Safe routes measures should include such things as speedy processing of visas for family members, students, and other non asylum routes; opening the embassies to applications for asylum; an EU wide declaration of emergency humanitarian access.